136

That is, supposedly, my IQ. I took the test at the beginning of ninth grade. I wasn't told it was an IQ test. I didn't try very hard. I found the information they sent dad a year or two later. Under IQ, it said 136, and that people's IW apparently varies up or down as far as fifteen points on some days. So I guess some days I'm rockin' 151, and others I'm draggin' ass with 121. I think giving IQ tests to children who aren't really into accelerated learning classes, or aren't trying to get into college at the age of twelve, is stupid. All it does is give the parents ammunition for the "You're not applying yourself, you have so much potential, you're not trying hard enough!" pointy stick of an encouragement tenchique. And it makes kids wonder what the hell's wrong with them, if they're so damn smart, why is math so hard, why is it so hard to concentrate? I was given one of these tests in... I think third grade. Maybe fourth. Anyway, my reading level came up as 16.9, equal to someone who has completed four years of college. This was waved in my face a lot whenever I failed a test. I always did well in English/Lit classes, or classes that were mostly reading and memorizing facts like any kind of history, sociology or psychology, etc. But I sucked at math, and my parents didn't get that there's more to math than reading! You have to know what to do with the numbers when, and it's a different thing each time, and numbers just aren't my friends. I can, by dint of great effort and forced concentration, prefrom decently at math, that's how I got that diploma thingie from high school. One of several reasons, actually a lesser one, for me dropping out of college was my absolute terror or having graduated high school fairly clueless when it came to mathematocs...